Large is trend in LCD monitor market: report

TAIPEI--The global liquid crystal display (LCD) market has seen a growing demand for large-sized products, with a Taiwanese research institute predicting Saturday that the proportion of panels sized 20 inches and above will reach a record high this year.

In the last quarter of 2013, shipment of large sized products of 20 inches and above already reached 60 percent of the total LCD shipments worldwide, WitsView said in a research note.

And the ratio has grown to 63 percent and 65 percent during the first and second quarters of this year, it added.

"This was mainly due to the increasing demands for 21.5- and 23.6-inch monitors, and the entry of 23.8-inch products," said Anita Wang, a research manager at WitsView.

"With more panel makers getting involved in 23.8-inch panel production, shipments have gradually grown and generated new demands for large-sized products," she explained.

Panel makers are shifting development resources into new products with higher net profits because of current shortages in monitor panel production capacity, Wang said.

She added that the demand for large sized products has been most evident in mature economies.

The global proportion of monitor panels sized 20-inch and above will continue rising and will likely reach between 68 to 70 percent by the end of 2014, the researcher predicted.

Shipments of LCD monitors, including all-in-one computers, will total 150 million units in 2014, according to WitsView.